Love And Ninja Tools
by AndieXD
Summary: What happens when a childhood friendship turns into a troublesome addiction and all the trials and tribulations that come with it as the years and other people come and go but one thing will always remain constant, the fact their the one you want. Shikamaru x Ume (OC) NEXT CHAPTER: In progress
1. Here For You

Love and Ninja Tools 

Shikamaru X Ume (OC)

I was set a challenge to create an OC for any Naruto Character and I just adore Shikamaru. I was also allowed to change one thing about the plot so I chose to have Minato and Kushina survive the Nine-Tails attack.

**I do not own the "Naruto" franchise or the characters from it, all credit to Kishimoto-Sensei.**

Chapter 1 

In Hokage Tower Ume sat in the Fourth Hokage's office, her mother, Kushina was looking out of the window with her eyes trained on the main gate and her father was sat behind his desk looking at his paperwork but not really reading a word on the papers. The silence was heavy and almost deafening as all three had the exact same thought on their mind 'Naruto should be back by now'. After what seemed like hours of silence and mutual worry Genma ran into the office.

"Lord Hokage" the man managed to utter before the three were all on their feet looking at him expectantly.

"Kakashi has returned with Naruto and the others including the Sand Shinobi, Sasuke was not among them" Genma told them.

"I don't care about Sasuke, How is my brother?" Ume asked impatiently.

"Ume, let Genma speak" Minato said quickly despite his daughter just voicing the question on both his and his wife's mind. Genma raised an open palm to The Forth to show he hadn't been offended by Ume's interruption.

"The mission not only failed but all are injured, Neji Hyuuga and Choji Akimichi are critical, Naruto Uzumaki is stable but unconscious, Kiba Inuzuka and Rock Lee are required to stay in hospital and Shikamaru Nara escaped with cuts and bruises" Genma explained and fully understood what happened next. Ume had ran straight passed him and out of the office and Kushina had hopped out of window she was stood by, both no doubt heading straight for the hospital. In all honesty Minato would have been there by now if he didn't as Hokage have to listen to Genma's full report, He sighed as he turned to Genma.

"Please finish your report so I can see my son".

Ume ran directly from Hokage Tower to the Hospital, not relenting in speed once. Once in the reception she lent on the desk fighting for breath while getting Naruto's room number, she couldn't remember the last time she had run that fast not even on missions. She headed in the direction of twin brother's room despite having been told their mother had already arrived, she continued to sprint wanting to see how he was doing for herself.

Running down the corridor she saw Shikamaru but saw him too late and was moving too fast to stop. Before either of them had time to move she had crashed into him as they both collided to the ground. Ume was fine as Shikamaru had cushioned her landing but Shikamaru coughed a little as the collation had taken the breath right out of him. Neither of them made any attempt to move, she was tired from sprinting so fast and he had been winded as Temari, Ino, Choza and Shikaku just watched the scene unfold.

"Erghhh sorry Shikamaru, you okay?" She asked him quietly.

"It's alright, I'll be fine Ume" He said moving her mass of tail-bone length blonde hair out of his face.

"I was in my dad's office when the report came in, how is Choji doing?" she asked as she eventually got up off of the boy and helped him up.

"It's touch and go, Lady Tsunade is in with him, I'm just grateful she came back when The Forth asked for her help with the sick after that epidemic" He said trying his best not to let his worry and anxiety for his best friend affect his speech. Ume looked up at Shikamaru and saw his strained facial expression. Upon registering what he must be feeling Ume pulled him into a comforting hug. At first Shikamaru tried to stand strong but it was just too much the feeling that he had put not only the life of his best friend but his entire squad in danger with his poor leadership.

"As far as I'm concerned to hell with the 25th shinobi rule, your mission is over, your best friend isn't out of the woods and your surrounded by people who care about you, you can talk to any of us" She said sweetly so only the boy in her embrace could hear. On hearing her words his strong stance melted away his arms wrapped tightly around Ume's petite waist and he buried his face in her shoulder, completely forgetting about the fact they had an audience.

"It's all my fault I should have been prepared for Sasuke to have escorts, I should have never let the group separate" he whispered in her ear.

"Shikamaru there was no way you could have known, just please stop beating yourself up. I hate seeing you like this" she said to her old Academy friend.

"Thank you Ume, for having more faith in me than I do" he said holding her small frame that bit closer to his.

"Choji is going to be fine, you may all go in a visit him, but only for a short while he needs to rest" Lady Tsunade said to the group waiting for news on Choji the noticed Ume and Shikamaru, "Honourable Daughter isn't Naruto in 309?" They heard Lady Tsunade and instantly separated the two of them feeling a little awkward. Her eyebrow twitched a little with annoyance at the sound of the title she despised but since Lady Tsunade was one of the Legendary Sanin of the leaf she felt it best to hold her tongue.

"Yes Lady Tsunade, I was on my way there when I ran into Shikamaru. Literally" Ume said rubbing the back of her neck, a nervous tick of hers but turned as she heard Shikamaru chuckle in response she simply nudged him with her elbow.

"Anyway let me know how Choji is doing and send him my best"

"I will and Ume, thank you"

"Anytime for you Shikamaru" it was one of those all too usual occurrences for Ume, one of those moments where she hadn't realised what she'd said until the words had passed her lips so she just continued to walk casually up the corridor like she had said nothing out of the ordinary.


	2. Never Going To Be Alone

It was about a month after the mission to retrieve Sasuke failed and it seemed like everything in Konoha was changing.

Shikamaru had just left his house to go on his way see Choji who was well on the road to recovery.

"Shikamaru!" he heard an all too familiar voice from behind him.

"What is it Naruto?" he asked without even having to turn to see who was speaking to him, but when he turned he saw the worried expression on the blondes face, "What's wrong?".

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you had seen Ume, I mean I'll be leaving with master Jiraiya in about an hour and even Chihiro and Achika can't find her, I just want to see my sister before I leave for three years" Naruto couldn't help but be worried since her teammates that knew Ume inside out were coming up blank, and since The Yin Chakra of the Nine Tails was sealed away in his sister, just like him in the wrong hands she could be a ticking time bomb but he was sure he was just over thinking it.

"Oh what'a drag but I suppose I can help the search effort, If I was leaving for three years I'd want to see Ino and Choji before I left" he said as his team were the closest thing he had to siblings and he couldn't imagine the bond between the twins that had gone from sharing a womb to sharing the burden that kept their village safe.

"Thanks Shikamaru" Naruto smiled, "Me, Chihiro and Achika have the West, East and South covered so head North, If you find her meet us at the main gates" Naruto said before he ran off calling for his sister, Shikamaru sighed and headed off having a good idea of where to look.

Shikamaru climbed the stairs to the top of the Stone faces of the Hokage, he remembered when they were fresh out of the academy brats. Team Asuma and team Ibiki were sent on a mission together and everyone made so many rookie mistakes that they may not have completed the D rank mission that turned into and A rank in a matter of seconds if the two Jonin hadn't been holding everything together. This was the first time he had seen the tailed cloak for himself and he's not ashamed to admit it terrified him since, Chihiro was injured, even Asuma was shaking in his sandals with Ino and Choji fighting over who was going to hide behind whom and her own sensei trying get close enough for the seals to stick. When they got back from the mission Ume was ashamed that she had lost control after seeing her teammate who was like the crazy sister the gods never gave her bleeding on the floor. She couldn't face telling her father as she couldn't take the look of sheer disappointment she was sure she would get from him, so the moment they got back to Konoha she vanished. He and Ibiki eventually found her sat atop of her father's carving telling him everything she daren't say to his face and it turned out this was something she did whenever she either needed to come clean or just talk to him when the real Forth Hokage was too busy.

Shikamaru looked over the ledge and there she was true to form there she was, talking to her father's carving. He leaped down behind her, when she heard the drop behind her, her instincts as a Kunoichi kicked in and in the second she was stood facing him with her hand hovering over her shuriken.

"Oh it's you Shikamaru, didn't anyone teach you it's rude to sneak up on other ninja from your own village" she said as she relaxed and sat back down looking over the village she called home.

"My mum may have mentioned it at some point" he said jokingly as he took a seat beside her, "So is he pissed or busy?" Shikamaru asked looking over to the blonde. A half-hearted smiled played on her face as she heard his question, did he really know her that well?

"Busy, with Naruto leaving in a matter of hours he's trying to get through all his official Hokage stuff before he leaves while trying to rein in my mum, who if she had her own way Naruto would be lugging around a backpack the size of our house" she said trying to keep up a light tone.

"Really? I never took Lady Kushina as the fussy type, strict yeah, fussy not so much" he said casually as Ume couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Oh yeah, I'm surprised she doesn't send us out on missions dressed in bubble wrap" she said her façade cracking with every word as she tried to wipe her eye as slyly as possible.

"Ume?" Shikamaru said with sweet concern as he rested his hand on her back, comfortingly stroking up and down her spine.

"I'm fine" she said adamantly.

"No you're not, tell the truth" he told her in a soft but stern tone as in that moment her façade completely shattered and her arm flung around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder as she burst into tears. Shikamaru knew full well she was upset but this was not the reaction he had expected and it made him jump in surprise and shift uncomfortably where he sat as fought of the blush threatening to appear on his cheeks.

"I'm just going to miss him so much. He's my twin, I've literally never been without him and I'm not going to see his stupid face for three years" Ume told Shikamaru through her tears which settled his feeling of being uncomfortable in a second, as he couldn't imagine what his little trouble making blonde friend must be feeling as he pulled her into a hug resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Oh come on please don't cry" he pleaded with the girl to no prevail.

"It not only that he's the only one I can talk to about this stupid old cynical fox, he gets it you know. Chihiro and Achika, they try but it's not the same and anything could happen to him out there" she said weakly.

"Now you haven't thought this through have you? Think about it, you can always talk to your mum about it she was the Jinchuriki before you two remember and he's going to be with Master Jiraiya who would do anything for his god children" he told her rationally as she nodded.

"I suppose your right"

"Of course I am, No matter what I say it is not going to stop you missing him but at least you can stop worrying yourself for no reason" He told her with a small smile.

"What would I do without you?"

"I don't know you'd probably just be a bundle of broken nerves rocking in the corner" he said with a cheeky grin.

"Hey, I'm not that neurotic" She said with a hint of laughter in her tone as she gently hit him in her chest.

"Maybe not yet"

"Thanks Shikamaru, I think I just needed that shoulder" she said sweetly.

"Anytime" He said as he kissed the top of her head. His eyes widened as he realised what he just did, why did he just do that, he wondered as Ume's cheeks went rosy all of a sudden. Shikamaru suddenly stood pulling her up with him.

"Anyway we better head to the main gate, Naruto will be heading out soon" he said rubbing the back of his neck as she shyly nodded still looking at the ground before the headed to the Main gate.

"Hey here, my little cousin wanted me to give you this, he was worried he'd cry in front of 'big brother Naruto' so he wrote you a letter instead" Achika said as she handed him an envelope.

"Oh Konohamaru, Thanks Ach" He said as the girl nodded before going to stand with Chihiro and Sakura.

"Naruto!" Naruto heard as he looked in the direction of his sister's voice as she ran to hug him as Shikamaru walked casually behind her.

"Ume, I was worried you weren't going to see me off" he said as he embraced his sister and the bystanders just smiled at the two.

"Take care of yourself okay and you better be back in three years on the dot or I'll kill you myself" she said as she released her brother.

"Has Mum given you her speech yet?" She added.

"Oh yeah"

"Let me guess" she said before straightening up and imitating her mother's stance, "Now Naruto you must remember to write home every week or I'll have Uncle Jiraiya bring you straight home, remember to brush your teeth twice daily not just the once, wash behind your ears, treat all wounds straight away so they don't get infected because then they'll have to amputate, wash your socks because you can't make the same pair last a week, no turning your underwear inside out to get a second day out of them that's just nasty, No spending your money on things you don't need this is a training exercise not a holiday and when uncle Jiraiya goes out to do 'research', you stay in your room" Ume said mimicking her mother as Chihiro, Achika, Shikamaru and Sakura tried their best to contain their laughter whereas Ume, Naruto, Minato and Jiraiya burst out laughing.

"I sound nothing like that" Said Kushina adamantly to her laughing family.

"Oh Ume that was a prefect impression of your mother's motor-mouth" Minato struggled to get out as he was still in stitches.

"Shut up, Minato" his wife said as she punched him in the arm.

"Oww, you're supposed to love me" Said Minato as their children laughed at them acting like children. Ume turned to her God Father and hugged him.

"Come back safe, both of you" she said as Jiraiya kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair.

"We will don't worry about it, you look after yourself and do me a favour and make sure your parents don't kill each other while we're gone" He told her as she laughed wiping her eyes.

"Done" she said as she stood with the others who were waving and saying good bye after giving her twin one last hug. Ume stood waving to the two as headed out of the main gate, her eyes threatening to spill over.

"Aww Ume!" Said her two teammates as they hugged her from one side, Chihiro squashing Achika in the middle and Shikamaru rested his hand on her back as he had before.

Hearing the noise Naruto looked back and the first thing he noticed was Shikamaru's hand on his precious twin and pointed to him.

"Hey you better look after her" he called back as his sisters teammates thought he was speaking to them.

"We will, just go" Called Chihiro.

"God Naruto, we look after her regardless of what you say" Achika yelled back as Shikamaru simply responded in a nod before the boy went on his way with his god father.


	3. Pressure and Realisations

Ume laid in bed staring at her ceiling blankly the third round of the Chunin exams was only a week away and she was sure her time was better spent training than sleeping but her father had told her to rest because she is better to be rested and focused. But how could she sleep? With her father being who he was, Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Because she is his daughter in the academy she had to work twice as hard to prove she was just as good as everyone else and not just flying by on her father's coat tails and now for the same reason people were expecting near perfection from her in the final round, she really couldn't win. Ume mulled this thought over in her head and silently screamed into her pillow in frustration, as if the Chunin exams weren't stressful enough to begin with.

Deciding she wasn't going to sleep no matter how hard she tried, she may as well do something productive. She climbed out of bed in her shorts and vest top and sorted out her two long braids which had gone every which way as she had restlessly moved in bed. After opening her bedroom door to check the coast was clear she crept down the hall into her father's deserted office. She closed the door quietly behind her before rooting through one of her father's cupboards which was filled with scrolls about all different kinds of Jutsu. After about five minutes she was surrounded by scrolls and had found a couple that looked promising. She opened the first carefully praying to the gods it wasn't booby-trapped. She breathed a sigh of relief as it didn't blow up in her face before scanning over it hopefully with her violet eyes that her mother so generously given to her, because she needed something spectacular that was going to knock the Grass Genin she would be facing right on his backside.

_BANG, BANG._

Ume jumped as she looked up from the scroll she had been so intently reading and looked up at the clock. Three in the morning, who would be banging on the door at this ungodly hour? Ume grumbled to herself as she got to her feet and headed down stairs to the front door.

_BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG. _

"Okay, okay calm your passions, I'm coming for god's sake" She yelled grumpily as she neared the door. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw what was on the other side.

"Shikamaru! What the actual hell, you need a hospital, not the Hokage! What are you doing here?" she said in shock as she knelt beside the boy slumped in the entry to her homestead.

"No, I must report to the Hokage right away" He said his strained voice fighting through his laboured breathing.

"At least let me look at you first, my dad is still going to be in bed five minutes from now" She said concerned as she lightly rested her hand on his arm, her eyes widened quickly as she did so as he winced. _'Aches and is that sweat? He's sodden' _she thought silently to herself as she gently took his chin into her hand and looked him directly in the eyes, '_Pupils are almost completely dilated' _she then held his arm out and told him to keep it steady, but it arm flopped as soon as she let go. _'Aches, Sweats, dilated pupils and unresponsive muscles' _she thought to herself as she recognised his symptoms.

"Jimsonweed!" she yelled as it clicked she'd seen this poisoning before on a mission when Achika was hit with a Kunai coated in the stuff. Jimsonweed was the poison of choice for many rogue shinobi because it can be made easily on the road with no medical knowledge; all you have to know is where to look.

"Daddy, Momma!" Ume yelled as she made the realisation as in seconds her Hokage father and Jonin elite mother were by her side.

"What's going on?" Kushina asked as she knelt by the teenagers.

"Shikamaru, what happened? Your squad wasn't due back until tomorrow afternoon" the hokage asked in his underwear.

"He's been poisoned, it's Jimsonweed" Ume told her mother.

"Lord Hokage, I came here with an urgent report" Shikamaru said trying to get to his feet in vain as Ume sat him straight back down.

"Don't you even think about moving, you'll only help the poison spread you're lucky it hasn't already made it to your heart" Ume said sternly.

"Minato, take him to Naruto's room I will give him the first aid I can there while you listen to his report, Ume throw some clothes on and wake either Shizune or Lady Tsunade and bring them here" Kushina said taking over the situation as the two blondes simply nodded and followed Kushina's orders.

"Ohh and Ume, bring Kakashi and Kurenai to me, depending on this report Asuma may need their back up" Minato said as he scooped up Shikamaru and took him to Naruto's bedroom. Ume simply put on her shoes and threw on her father's iconic coat reading '_Yondaime Hokage' _down the back she knew was much too big for a Genin like her in more ways than one.

She returned quickly with Kakashi, Kurenai and Shizune having feared for her own safety if she had dared wake Lady Tsunade. She took the three Jonin upstairs and knocked on the to Naruto's room door, her father appeared and ushered Shizune inside to take over from Kushina. Ume stood and sighed at the sight her father hadn't taken the time to go and put some trousers on.

"I'm going to bed" she said shaking her head.

"Lord Hokage" Kurenai said averting her eyes.

"Sensei" Said Kakashi not surprised in the slightest with his old mentor.

"Yeah I apologize for my attire it has been one of those nights" Minato said to the two Jonin as he took his coat from his daughter's shoulders before hugging her and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Ume you go get some rest now okay" he told his daughter.

"Yeah will do, night Uncle Kakashi, Kurenai sensei. Love you dad" she said as the two Jonin nodded.

"Love you too sweetheart" he said as she walked down the hall before turning to the two, "I'll brief you two in the lounge" Minato said in full on Hokage mode as he lead the two down stairs. Ume watched her father and the two Jonin descend the stairs before heading back into her father's office to hunt for her trump Jutsu.

Ume had been search through scroll after scroll and she had found a few that seemed promising that shouldn't take too long to learn with relentless training. She smiled to herself rather pleased with her finds as she had never been so happy for her father being Hokage. She tidied up the office being careful to keep her finds to one side. Ume froze suddenly as she heard the office door open, already constructing her excuses before she turned around. She gave a sigh of relief as she saw Shikamaru stood in the doorway.

"God don't scare me like that! I thought you were my dad" said with an exhale of relief.

"Sorry, I thought it's be you, how about we go outside and train a little" he suggest swaying on the spot where he stood.

"Umm Shikamaru have you been drinking the medicinal alcohol, you know that stuff isn't good for you right?" she asked him with a concerned look.

"Of Course not! It was that stuff Shizune gave me, I feel great let's get in some target training before you mum and dad get up" he said as he walked over and picked the blonde up, "Times a wasting!".

_'Great, the painkillers are reacting with the Antidote and sending him high as a kite" _Ume thought to herself as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck to stop herself from falling.

"Oh no Mr Nara, you are in no fit state to be throwing Kunai around. Besides Target Training with you isn't really training at all, I know you let me win" she said giving him a very accusing look to which he simply smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well Miss Uzumaki, did it ever occur to you that I let you win because I like you?" He told her planting a light kiss on the end of her nose. Ume couldn't fight the blush fighting on her cheeks. What had just happened? Yes, of course they liked each other, they were good friends and comrades that go back to the academy when she used to cover for his absences with Iruka Sensei and he'd let her peak at his homework. But that kiss, so sweet and simple couldn't mean friendship like could it? She had noticed it herself when they'd train together but end up on the floor watching the clouds pass them by the feeling of just wanting to be that little bit closer to him but now she was closer than she'd ever imagined with her heartbeat drumming in her ears. What could be achieved by trying to decipher the words of a guy high on painkillers but would he have ever been that open with her if he wasn't? But these were the queries for another day as the last thing she needed was another thing on her mind entering that arena.

"Yes Shikamaru, I like you too. Now let's get you to bed" she said sweetly as he nodded.

"A little forward but I can live with it" he said a little slurred as Ume's cheeks burnt a bright crimson at the comment as He just laughed.

"I meant Naruto's bed" She quickly retorted.

"I know I only wanted to see your reaction" he said.

"I did mean it I do like you, you're gorgeous and have extremely long hair I know it's that long for your Jutsu but it is still very pretty" Shikamaru rambled clearly still under the hold of the painkillers as she simply smiled and nodded.

"Why thank you Shikamaru" she said leading him out of her father's office.

"And you also have a very nice pair of…" he started saying before Ume elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up as she saw her father at the end of the hall looking far less than impressed.

"Hiya daddy, God those Painkillers are so strong, no wonder he is as high as a kite and has no clue what he is saying" she said in a high pitch tone which her father knew she only used when she was trying to deceive him in one way or another.

"What I was only going to say legs" he said

"Okay then Shikamaru" she said trying to drown out whatever Shikamaru might say.

"Is it just me or is the Hokage in his underpants?" Shikamaru asked genuinely thinking he was seeing things so Ume decided to go with it as she opened Naruto's bedroom door, shoved him in.

"It's you, I think maybe you should sleep off those Painkillers, night" she said closing the door behind her. Ume smiled to her father as she went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Boy those painkillers huh? Night daddy, love you" Ume said she said in the sweetest tone before going off to her bedroom not trying too hard to conceal the scrolls safe in the knowledge that her father would be more preoccupied by the fact she was with a boy at that time in the morning, whether he was a house guest or not.


End file.
